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World Cup 2014 Brazil

well Portugal is 95% out because of their goal difference.

If the the USA wins with +1 goals, they need 8 goals
If Germany wins by 2 goals they still need a 2 goal lead of Ghana



Germany is pretty much through unless they lose with -2 goals and Ghana goes +2 vs portugal
 
Team USA

Great matchplay by Team USA! Shame the Portuguese scored the 2-2 🙁 in the very last minute of the add time... Really enjoyed watching the game. Germany will be a much harder nut to crack.

~ Cheers
 
How to cook CHILI in 90 minutes!

10435590_749954771723122_4254905907839249750_n.jpg


Enjoy the game!!! 😎
 
Group winner.😎


All credit to Chile they made a real match of it.

Not the best match, but a win is a win.

Spain finally wins.

Austrailia played three games of their lives, and never gave up, the sign of true SPORTS PEOPLE.
 
That Portugal was ranked 4th (and Switzerland 6th) tells you all you need to know about how much of a joke the FIFA rankings are.

In the US, the waves of interest in soccer may break and recede every four years with the World Cup, but the tide is constantly rising. More people are watching with each cycle, and more people will stick with it in the intervening years. With the US presumably qualifying for the knockout rounds again, the tide will be pushed even further up the beach this year.

I thought the Netherlands would be the big fatality in the group of death. Instead, they beat Chile to complete a 9 point sweep. Manchester United can wait for Van Gaal. (Though I am really curious to figure out what he saw in Antonio Valencia to green light a contract extension for him. Bring back the wingback? Intriguing.)
 
Don't panic said:
I don't understand why people worry ( for the US).
They are qualified.
They go on if they win the next game, they go on if they tie, and they likely go on if they lose by one. Actually, same goes for germany, but in their case even losing by 2 could be safe ( depending on the ghana-portugal final result)

WC 82, West germany - austria 1-0 both qualified, algeria eliminated
EC 04,Sweden- denmark 2-2, both qualified, italy eliminated
Wc 14 germany-usa 0-0 (or any tie), both qualified, ghana/portugal eliminated

Have groups of 3 where only the winner goes through, and the problem is fixed.
Click to expand...
Exactly my reasoning.
Jogi and Klinsi would have to be blatant idiots not to instruct their teams to play 0-0.
Its bound to be 1982 again, but could end up even more boring.
The first 20 minutes in 1982 were actualy just a regular game.
On thursday they dont need to play at all.
It just depends on how well they decide to act it.

Sad for the audience who already payed to see this ...
 
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Mexico Wins!

Mexico played a great game to defeat Croatia, 3 to 1. Very exciting! Go USA!! Go Mexico!! Go North America!! 😀
 
smithrh said:
Can someone explain to this non-fan how that Suarez goal wasn't offsides?
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You can only be offside if the ball is passed forward from one attacking player to another and the player receiving the ball is forward of the defense at the time the ball is player forward. The reason Suarez was not offside is because the ball was played forward by an England Player "Gerrard" not an attacking player.

----------
Don't panic said:
I don't understand why people worry ( for the US).
They are qualified.
They go on if they win the next game, they go on if they tie, and they likely go on if they lose by one. Actually, same goes for germany, but in their case even losing by 2 could be safe ( depending on the ghana-portugal final result)

But make no mistakes, There are no real alternative 'scenarios'.
The US will tie germany and both teams will qualify, with germany winning the group. Everyone is happy (well, except ghana and portugal).
Someone earlier posted the "scandalous" austria-germany game in 82. This is the same, only more obvious, because ANY tie works. They'll put in a fake effort for a few minutes, but the result is guaranteed.

WC 82, West germany - austria 1-0 both qualified, algeria eliminated
EC 04,Sweden- denmark 2-2, both qualified, italy eliminated
Wc 14 germany-usa 0-0 (or any tie), both qualified, ghana/portugal eliminated

They'll deny it, act all offended, but it will end up in a tie. Book it. 😀
If i were a betting man, i would put a large sum on the tie.
Most obvious would be a 0-0, since it doesn't require any active fixing, just " saving energy", but it might look blatant. So maybe they'll go for an unspoken 1-1 ( with the us scoring first: if the us wins 1-0, they almost certainly both go, with the us first)
The only way for fifa to save face, is if portugal and ghana tie as well, or if portugal wins by 1. But if ghana is winning by more than 1, germany and the US will quickly switch to the "safe tie" mode

It sounds horrible, and in fact it is, but it is built-in in this format to possibly get to situations like this. Maybe if there is an outrage they'll change the format again, like after the algeria scandal (however nothing happened after the scandinavian fix).
Have groups of 3 where only the winner goes through, and the problem is fixed.
Click to expand...

The US is definitely not yet qualified. Ghana can still get in ahead of them if Ghana beat Portugal and US lose to Germany.
 
nebo1ss said:
The US is definitely not yet qualified. Ghana can still get in ahead of them if Ghana beat Portugal and US lose to Germany.
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i think you are missing the point i was making.

we all know the US is not yet mathematically qualified.

there are two scenarios where they do not go through (germany+ghana both win by a combined +3 goal differential, or germany and portugal both win by a combined +5 GD), and in a neutral situation, where germany had motivation to actually try to win the game, or had nothing to lose, i would agree that it would be at least a bit risky.

but in this case, both team maximum motivation would be to tie the game. no matter what they are saying now and how they are positioning themselves, they both go into the match KNOWING that a 0-0 tie will be beneficial to both, while a defeat could mena elimination for either team, so -without need for an actual, active "fix"- they will naturally converge to that result.
add to that that there is no real 'prize' for winning the group, since there isn't much difference between playing first of second of group F (although belgium is better than algeria/russia/korea), plus the incentive to save/recover energy, avoid injuries and cards, and you have the perfect recipe for a sedated game which will fizz out towards a 0-0.

the only real motivation i see for the US team is that interest in soccer is at an all-time high here at home. if they were to beat germany they would send the fans in a frenzy. on the other hand, a 'shameful' 0-0 tie might sour many fans to the game for good.
whether that pushes them to skip the smart, rational 'right' thing to do (0-0), and chose the stupid, emotional 'right' thing to do (push for a win, risking a defeat), i do not know.

but i know this much: if they start the game attacking decidedly, the germans are not just going to sit there and take it. It will be gloves off, and THEN we might be in trouble.

As a fan, i want to see an exciting game, and i want the sport to become more popular here.
but i want the team to go through a whole lot more.
 
Don't panic said:
Have groups of 3 where only the winner goes through, and the problem is fixed.
Click to expand...
WORST. SUGGESTION. EVER.

Re the Germany/USA fixture: regardless of the Löw/Klinsmann relationship, and the fact than a significant proportion of the US team is German, I think the (proper) Germans will play to win.
 
mojolicious said:
WORST. SUGGESTION. EVER.
Re the Germany/USA fixture: regardless of the Löw/Klinsmann relationship, and the fact than a significant proportion of the US team is German, I think the (proper) Germans will play to win.
Click to expand...
They obviously play to win the world cup and the smart way of going around that is to avoid exhaustion, injury and even the off chance of not advancing to the next round. There is absolutely nothing in this game for either team. Their by far best choice is to just kick the ball in a circle for 90 minutes. There is nothing unfair about that either. Ghana and portugal had the same chances. They didnt play well enough, so they dont advance.

I, too get the impression that they might play to win this game.
Never underestimate human stupidity!
 
The backlash and hence distraction that such an obvious 'cheating' would create would outweight any power saved during the 90mins by far. Chances are good that both proceed because their chances are mathematically better than the competitors. And just because we see a draw at the end doesn't mean they intended so from the get go.

Of course they both won't play an all out attacking game, especially at the end, but both teams aren't exactly known for mastering defensive play either, so I can see plenty of goals in here.

I've never seen a Klinsmann team to successfully play a save game / play to keep a draw. I haven't followed his American adventure but it would 100% surprise me. He couldn't park the bus even if he (strangely) intended to do so.

Löw has to convince his critics just as well and the only way to do this right now is winning against a mediocre team (😉).

And this isn't even taking into consideration of how the players react. Müller surely wants to score as often as possible, as will Klose. 14 goals aren't enough! 😀
 
Don't panic said:
predictably boring game between uruguay and italy.
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could be worse. could be Costa Rica vs. England.

i jsut switched to the game and the first sentence from the commentator was " .... totally harmless. A playing system looks different"

only to be followed up a few minutes later by "The good thing is that it can't get any worse than what we are seeing now"
 
takao said:
could be worse. could be Costa Rica vs. England.

i jsut switched to the game and the first sentence from the commentator was " .... totally harmless. A playing system looks different"

only to be followed up a few minutes later by "The good thing is that it can't get any worse than what we are seeing now"
Click to expand...

It's been pretty dire. Ashamed to be English!
 
LadyX said:
I knew it. That's why I didn't bother seeing it.
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game just got interesting.
italy now in 10 men with a red-carded player.

appeared completely unjustified red card to me.
i didn't even think it was a foul, let alone one to be sanctioned so harshly.

but the game will get more action for sure now.
the espn commentator seem to be quite happy about it. i noticed they tend to take sides early in the games and call the game in very one-sided way.
kind of annoying
 
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